Seems Only Like Yesterday
by John Silver fan
Summary: After the Clone Wars, Ahsoka gets a look into the depths of Obi-Wan's heart and a few sides of him she's never seen before. Ahsoka's POV


I was walking through the temple, not really going anywhere in particular. Master Anakin was with Miss Padme, so I had the day to myself. I passed the Hall of Memories, stopped, backed up a little, and looked down the hall.

Master Obi-Wan was standing a ways down the hall, looking at one memorial, his face straight but his eyes sad.

I walked towards him.

"Master Obi-Wan?"

He turned, startled.

"Oh, Ahsoka. I take it Anakin is with Padme?"

"Yeah. So, uh, what's up with you?"

He looked back at the memorial, and I followed his gaze.

It was the memorial to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He had died when my Master was just a boy.

"Fifteen years."

I looked at Master Obi-Wan.

"Huh?"

He looked at me, his blue-green eyes once again sad.

"He's been gone for fifteen years."

"Who, Master?"

His answer made me feel like an idiot.

"Qui-Gon Jinn."

_Oh. Duh, Ahsoka, pay better attention!_

"I remember it as if it happened yesterday."

I looked at Master Obi-Wan is surprise.

"You saw Master Jinn die?"

Qui-Gon Jinn was a legend. He had been one of the temple's top five swordsmen and negotiator. He had been extremely wise and compassionate but also very defiant, having a tendancy to defie the Council and the Code every now and then.

"_Saw_ him die? I held him in my arms as he died."

My jaw dropped, and Master Obi-Wan smiled slightly. He closed my mouth for me.

"His dying wish was for me to train Anakin, and I gave him my word to do so. At his funeral, I promised your Master that he'd become a Jedi."

He turned and began to walk away, indicating for me to follow with a jerk of his head.

I followed him out to the East Gardens to a large tree.

"This is where I sprinkled his ashes. This was his favorite place in the gardens. He would meditate out here, read, sometimes just sit and enjoy the beauty, play his flute,..."

"Master Jinn played the flute?"

He nodded.

"He was very good at it to."

There was a brief pause.

Suddenly Master Obi-Wan chuckled.

"What?"

"I just remembered something he did to me one day when I came out to look for him. I had just passed where I'm standing, and all of the sudden, something big and heavy landed on top of me. It was Qui-Gon. He had climbed up into the tree and jumped down on me as I walked by."

I giggled.

"He wasn't always serious. There were plenty of times when he was rather silly."

His smile faded as he became sad again.

"He was like a father to me. Even now, fifteen years later, I still can't believe that he's really gone. I'd give almost anything just to see his face or hear his voice again, just once."

He sighed.

"Ahsoka."

"Yes, Master?"

He stood proud once again.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes. Why?"

He smiled as he pulled off his robe and dropped it on the ground.

"Good. Follow me."

To my amazement, he began to climb the tree.

I followed him him, paying close attention to where he put his hands and feet, putting my own in those same places.

We climbed to the top of the tree and stuck our heads up from under the branches and leaves. We could see practically the whole East Garden from up there.

"Wow."

"Master Qui-Gon loved to climb up here and just look out over the garden. He'd always lose track of time, and if it got too late, I ended up having to climb up after him. I didn't enjoy, to honest. I swear I must have hit my head more times climbing this tree to get my Master than I ever did any other time."

I giggled at that, and he chuckled.

"As a boy I never understood why and how Qui-Gon would stay up here for hours just looking at the garden. The first day back after his death, I climbed up here and suddenly saw what he saw; I saw harmony, beauty, and peace. I have become more open to the Living Force, but not as much as Master Qui-Gon."

There was pause.

"He told me so many things when I was his Padawan that I didn't understand, and when I look back on them now, I understand them."

I smiled.

"It's been fifteen years since he died, yet it seems only yesterday."

He started to climb down.

"Come on. We shouldn't stay out here to long."

Suddenly his foot slipped and he fell, hitting several branches until he hit the ground.

"Master Obi-Wan!"

I quickly climbed down after him and helped him sit up.

"Are you all right."

To my surprise, he started laughing.

"Oh, Force, I haven't fallen out of that tree in years. It's terrifiying, yet strangely fun at the same time."

_Oh, boy. I'll never understand Master Obi-Wan completely, but I understand him a lot better now than before._

I helped him to his feet, he picked up his robe, and we went back into the temple.

"Been up in the tree again, huh, Kenobi?" Master Windu asked he passed up in the hall.

We stopped and looked after him.

"Huh?"

Then I realized that Master Obi-Wan's hair was full of twigs and leaves.

"Nice hair, Master," I giggled.

I helped him get the twigs and leaves from his hair.


End file.
